Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Faire Secrets
SERIES: The Faire Folk #4
AUTHOR: Madeleine Ribbon
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 257 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2016
BLURB:
Zion’s life is falling apart. His home burned down, his obnoxious ex-boyfriend is scheduled to get out of jail, the managers of the magical Renaissance Faire expect him to do a month’s worth of work in days, he hasn’t seen his sick sister in nine months, and he’s discovered a hidden room filled with secrets in the rubble of his library.
Usually, spending a few hours practicing rope bondage would be enough to clear Zion’s head, but not this time. This time there’s too much going wrong, and none of his problems are going away. In fact, life is throwing him yet another curve ball in the form of a handsome architect named Vin—the same Vin who spent all of last year trying to climb into Zion’s pants. Zion resisted then, but he’s not so sure he can do it again. He’s not so sure he even wants to.
Zion’s mountain of problems just keeps growing, and it’s only a matter of time until he gets buried beneath them.
REVIEW:
While Zion is a part of The Faire, and has been for a while, he prefers to spend his time alone and keeps mainly to himself and his books. Working as the Faire’s archivist is no easy task but with the devastation he and the rest of the residents are still trying to come back from, his job has been made even harder. The discovery of a hidden room full of artifacts no one knows how to translate and the appearance of a man apparently tied to them has Zion even more stressed. Add in a fledgling relationship with the man that chased him for months last year and the unwelcome reappearance of Zion’s ex and this may be the most stressful Faire season Zion has ever had. The magic of the Faire is fading, however, and Zion may be the only one capable of finding the answers they need to keep their way of life before its too late.
I really do enjoy this series a great deal; I’m fairly certain I’ve made that clear by now. Lol While I did like this newest installment I find I wasn’t as glued to the pages as I was with the three books previous. I still found the premise interesting and I was still totally engaged in the story but this one was more laid back than the rest of the series so far. There are two mysteries in this book to be solved; the appearance and translation of the hidden artifacts and the unexpected appearance of a man that literally appears out of thin air. I found I enjoyed both equally and it became even more interesting to find the two issues becoming more entwined as the story progressed. You also get to see Zion and Vin finally get together which was great as Vin had spent the last book trying his hardest to lure Zion onto the nearest flat surface. You learn a lot about both main characters over the course of the book and it was really nice seeing Zion finally get the relationship he deserved, especially after how things ended with the last one.
The focus here, like in the rest of the series, is on the story itself with the romance as a nice accompaniment. I’ve always been interested in history and archeology in particular so I found this one to be right up my alley. What I found to be missing, however, was the action and/or major problem that was in all three previous books. Like I said, this one was a little more laid back in comparison. What I loved, however, was that you finally get an answer to the question of where the Faire’s magic comes from. I was completely surprised and thoroughly intrigued; I love how aspects from the last book were brought back into this one in such an unexpected way and it looks as though it will be extended into the next one, as well. It finally feels as though some real answers are being given and I love that!
I did really enjoy the book and think it makes a great addition to the series overall. While not as ‘magical’ as the previous three, this was a fantastic set up for a really big transition and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for this universe next!
RATING: 
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